) Aechmea gracilis |
"Yes! This does exist - and No! it is not the same as Aechmea organensis which frequently goes under that name. Aechmea gracilis differs from Aechmea organensis by having larger flowers (Ca. 20 25mm long versus 13 - l7mm long) and a much fewer branched inflorescence. In addition, the colours are different although how consistent this will be is unknown, as I know only a single clone of Aechmea gracilis. The half dozen or so clones of Aechmea organensis that I've seen have all been with light blue petals. The photographed plant was collected in December 1996 in wet Atlantic forest in the vicinity of Mangaritiba, Rio de Janeiro State and it was flowered at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens." |
| Harry Luther |
"Not aware of discussions between Harry Luther and Derek Butcher I wrote to Harry asking about the "Yes! this does exist - and No! it is not the same.". Harry wrote back telling me he had asked Derek to fill me in on the history of confusion regarding Aechmea gracilis and Aechmea organensis. The following is from a letter from Derek."
| Ed. |
"The true identification of Aechmea gracilis and Aechmea organensis has been a long saga - with Peter Franklin and myself on one side and Harry on the other. It must have been in the mid 1980s that I did my first dissection. It was an Aechmea of the sub-genus Ortgiesia and I worked out it was either Aechmea gracilis or Aechmea organensis. I got Ken Robinson to video my efforts and when Ken was in Queensland he proudly showed his video to Grace Goode. Grace took the opportunity of showing her Aechmea gracilis with the comment that mine was wrongly named. So my plant became Aechmea 'Derek's organensis ha ha'. We looked hard and long at Aechmea organensis and came up with two forms. One of these we called the Queensland form where the ovary and sepals were pinker in colour than the NSW form. Every photograph and information we had on Aechmea gracilis was sent to Harry and all came back as 'small' Aechmea organensis.!
We grew the 'small' Aechmea gracilis that had been in Australia for years and the Aechmea organensis with large inflorescences. Peter was able to get a plant with a medium sized inflorescence from Olive Trevor so we started to believe that Harry might be right after all. Aechmea organensis could vary from small to large! Perhaps we didn't have Aechmea gracilis after all!"
This is addressed to Australian growers but the problem includes the USA! When Ellen Baskerville worked at Marie Selby she was asked to find a true Aechmea gracilis by Harry Luther presumably to straighten out the Aussies. She reported her find to Harry and guess what? It was a small Aechmea organensis!
In 1996 Harry went hunting with Benzing, Leme et al in the wilds of Brazil and collected an Aechmea gracilis which agreed with the formal description. This plant flowered at Marie Selby Gardens in November 1998 and caused this rush of activity. Peter Franklin and I still maintain that the only reason he went to Brazil was to get us off his back and it is a story we are sticking to!"
| Uncle Derek |
)
)
)
